Illinois State Hockey welcomes Gio Barghini to the Redbird Family! The Bloomingdale, Illinois native forward will be joining us for the 2025-26 season as he is finishing up his season with the West Dundee Leafs in the CSDHL!
Gio chose to go to Illinois State because, “I have had many cousins attend Illinois State and they have had great experiences. Along with that, I have had great conversations and felt very appreciative and supported by the coaches through my process in figuring out where I wanted to commit.” He intends to major in business while at ISU. Barghini is looking forward to, “to the great education I will get and all the new friendships and teammates I will make along the way, also getting the chance to play with some close friends I already have on the teams.”
When asked about his favorite coach, Gio stated, “Jermey Szczurek, my u18 coach at the Leafs for the last 2 seasons. Every time I come to the rink for practice or games, he has a fresh attitude always making jokes and running a good practice at the same time making it very enjoyable to show up to the rink on a day-to-day basis. He also helped develop me as a player but most importantly a leader.” Barghini credits that his biggest supporter is his family as he states, “my parents have been there with me my entire life always driving me to the rink bringing me to skills skates and always providing whatever I needed to succeed.” When asked about his biggest goal, Gio said it was he scored 2 goals against the Texas Tigers last season at nationals to keep his team alive in the tournament after losing the first game. The best hockey memory that Barghini has had was winning the state championship with two of his best friends.
Some other fun facts about Gio Barghini:
If Gio could be an animal, he would be an eagle because, “it would be extremely fun to fly.” Barghini has one sibling: Giana. His favorite food is steak.
“Gio is a highly skilled player who will be a tremendous asset to our program. We are excited to welcome him to the Illinois State Hockey family and look forward to the impact he will make on and off the ice.” – D2 Head Coach Kevin Tompkins
Gio joins a list of players to come from the West Dundee Leafs CSDHL team including Ethan Chesney, Alex Matsas, Blake Kumor, and former teammate Ryan Stobbe.
If you’re interested in playing for ISU Hockey, we encourage you to fill out our Recruit Form under the team tab on our website!